Learning from the utopian

GEOGRAPHY School of Global Affairs Faculty of Social Science & Public Policy Conceptualising the Indian city ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������� 4 Four alternative utopias ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������ 6 : smart heritage city ���������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������6 : paradigm shifts ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������8 : from kumbh city to smart city ������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������12 Navi revisited �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������16

Varanasi at dusk by Rohit Madan

2 Learning from the utopian city Contents 3 Conceptualising the Indian city

Ayona Datta, Anu Sabhlok, William Gould and Rebecca Madgin

Indian are now more at the centre of debates on urban Register’s Eco-City all provide fertile ground for examining rationalist planning visions that are often out of sync and grassroots organisations. We brought the ideas utopias than ever before. Whether for their entrepreneurial both the imageries, visions and realities of modernist with everyday life at street level. Grassroots visions of utopian histories in conversation with smart urban spirit, modernist planning, contested heritage claims, or ‘smart’ urban planning and the uncritical flow of urban theory of urban futures are not necessarily against the city – futures while at the same time remaining grounded visions, the Indian city has time and again narrated the story of and praxis from the global north to south. In the global they have different visions of urban utopias based on the stakeholder experiences of living and working ’s postcolonial coming of age. The future of the Indian city south, Chandigarh and Brasilia are often cited as the result on citizenship rights, justice and democracy. These in the city. The workshops utilised a range of dynamic is shaped by its own history – where utopian visions of urban of these totalitarian visions that overlooked local contexts visions are shaped by their historic, social and political methods including oral histories, photographs, sketches, planning are continually reassembled by grassroots articulations and produced failed utopias. Yet if anything the recent post engagement with city spaces and urban environments. music, dance, and mental maps to elucidate a range of urban citizenship. Each of these grassroots imaginations of utopian turn towards a global urban age recasts the historical, We call these ‘alternative utopias’. We argue that these of parallel histories and futures. There are not too citizenship can be seen as a vision for a new alternative utopia. cultural, and political legacy of urban utopias in the rhetoric alternative utopias are key to the planning of future cities many forums where academics, policy makers and This international network brought together scholars, policy of crises around urbanisation, migration and climate change. in India, at a time when it stands poised towards a radical grassroots organisations discuss and debate urban issues. makers, planners and civil society members from India and the Utopian urban planning is still discursively, visually and shift to smart urbanism. Our workshops provided that forum and the networks UK to explore alternative histories of the utopian city in India. materially sustained through tropes of heritage cities, eco developed have paved the way for further collaborative cities, smart cities and other politically driven experiments Taking four contrasting cities – Varanasi, Chandigarh, ethnographic work in these cities. with technology in the global north and south. and Nashik – this project explored how Alternative utopias alternative utopias to top-down planning visions are The project culminated with a project conference The history of urban planning is a history of urban utopias. Grassroots imaginations of urban futures are often silenced envisioned at the grassroots. The objectives of the project titled ‘Utopian Urban Futures: Histories, imaginations, Ebenezer Howard’s Garden City, Frank Lloyd Wright’s as illegal, illegitimate, dissenting and anti-developmental. were achieved through a series of inter-connected city possibilities’. The conference was organised at Leeds Broadacre City, Le Corbusier’s Radiant City and Richard Yet at the same time, they can radically transform the workshops between scholars, policy makers, planners from 27–28 June 2016.

(Un)framing utopias in the urban Photographic ideas in and of the urban, curated by Jitesh Malik and Rohit Madan

The ‘blueprint cities’ of architects like Ebenezer Howard and Le Corbusier have received substantial attention by urban researchers, architects, planners and governments. What remains less visible are the imaginations, perceptions and utopian visions of those that inhabit city spaces – as residents, migrants, children, tourists, non-human lives...

We put out an open call for photography exploring these themes, and have featured a selection of the photographs we received throughout the pages of this report. In these images we touch upon that liminal space that lies between the abstract and lived. They capture the dialectic between form and process, between built space and lived experience: to examine the histories, imaginations and possibilities of alternative urban utopias. How do the aspirations and dreams of urban residents materialise in space or in what ways do they sneak out amidst the cacophony of bureaucratic, professional and administrative interpretations of space? How does urban space speak to you – revealing your inner imaginations and visions of the city and its experience? What can visual interpretations of the Utopian city unveil that might remain concealed within the written discourse?

Unheard narrator by Shilpa Dahake The overlapping layers of painted advertisements and graffiti on the wall and garbage in the front, represents the way it is imagined or (re)produced socially by people who intentionally or unintentionally come in contact with its surface. Uneven, forgotten and ignored such surfaces of walls in cities become a canvas for many of its inhabitants’ expressions.

4 Learning from the utopian city Conceptualising the Indian city 5 Four alternative utopias Varanasi: smart heritage city

William Gould, University of Leeds

The fame of Varanasi or Banaras as an ancient , in location of the fortress of the Kashi tribe mentioned perspectives on the idea of the civic space itself: Citizens of been a key focal point for the development of political, many ways, overpowers its mundane urban histories. Diana in the Mahabharata, and capital of the Kashi kingdoms Banaras, recently invited into bids for Smart City status, were social and environmental activism, which was historically Eck suggests that the city of Varanasi may have the world’s discussed in Vedic literature. Myth merges more clearly drawn from all of these sectors as in the past, or from long term rooted not only in its diverse cultural institutions, but also longest history of human habitation, being a key urban centre into narrative of a thriving trading and commercial centre migration of cultivators into the city, floating populations of in movements for ‘social service’ in the late colonial period. at the time of the Mauryan and Gutpa Empires, as well as in the 6th Century BC, at the confluence of the Varuna workers and seasonal labourers. In addition, the city has been This history has allowed the city to spawn a wide range a millennium of Muslim and British domination. It was a and , dotted with inland pools and lakes and colonies the home for a diverse array of public arts practices, theatre, of arts and environmental NGOs in recent decades, not centre for the development of a range of religious traditions, of ashrams – each adding to the value of the city as a Hindu poetry and music. least those concentrated on sanitation and water supply reform movements, site of Buddha’s first sermon at Sarnath, centre (Eck, 5-25). We can think of Varanasi as the spatial – for example the BHU led Shrishti Sanrakshanam. Such and the location of some of the most important educational framing of cosmological thought across at least two millennia Other visions for the modern city have been driven by movements have started to consider the relationship between institutions of the last two centuries. In many ways it is an – a place that transformed, for example, through humankind’s administrative and commercial elites, and Banaras continues demographic change, the built environment and alternative archetypal ‘mythical city’, shaped and sometimes weighted shift from ritual sacrifice to theism and the rise of more to be high on the list of state and central government notions of heritage. These are rooted in urban realities: down by representations of its past. Deeper historical notions universal notions of god. initiatives around heritage and tourism development. From The city has experienced considerable changes in land use, of the city merge the early Twentieth Century, Varanasi was near the top of the significant slum populations, and a water supply system that with its utopian The city as ancient religious centre has shaped modern urban commercial and administrative hierarchy of the colonial is around 125 years old. Only 30% of the total area of the trajectories: responses to social conflicts and consensus, as well as how state of UP. From Mughal times it had been a centre for the city is provided with an underground sewer network, which Perhaps its populations have reconciled its heritage with notions of production of silk fabric, muslin and perfumes. Eventually, means that most sewage is directly disposed, untreated, in it was the urban development. Banaras, in common with other north as well as a town for silks, it also became a key city for the Ganga. Door to door waste collection does not cover the Indian centres was a key location in the development of agricultural redistribution and for brassware and artisanal whole of the city either. Ganga pollution is perhaps one of the middle class notions of urban improvement from the late 19th industries. It emerged as a key political and commercial key challenges for the city, with toxins in the waters reaching Century. The focus of its philanthropists, patrons of religion, centre in the early colonial period, while under the patronage levels estimated to be around 3000 times over the ‘safe’ limit and commercial communities, was often the reform of the of the Rajas of Banaras. Under direct colonial rule from suggested by the WHO. urban poor. This colonial/Victorian notion of improvement 1794, the city’s rail infrastructure gradually developed sat well with Hindu notions of ‘dharma’ but distanced urban through the 19th Century, but it was unable to compete With a population of around 1.4 million today, which is elites from the popular cultures of urban workers. The with the large industrial city of . As civil service gender skewed, the city is currently divided into 5 zones – latter always straddled the formal and informal sectors, and military personnel settled in the town, its territorial the Core area, Trans Varuna, which includes Sarnath, the moving between each over time. The existence of this boundaries extended, to accommodate municipal services, densely populated central area of South Varuna, South Assi, interchangeability and mobility, manual work sanitary infrastructure and new residential settlements. From the location of the Banaras Hindu University, and the Trans in bazaars, multiple small enterprises, the early twentieth century, financial services also expanded Ganga Zone, outside municipal but inside planning boundaries. transport and construction, and to finance new (especially small scale) urban manufacturing Although earmarked for the Heritage City Development street-vending complicated units. Nandini Gooptu has explained the significance of the and Augmentation Yojana (Hriday) project, Varanasi’s leaders the city’s industrial focus of financiers on small scale units: able to by-pass factory were unable to harness its potential benefits. This is despite histories. More legislation, fundraise capital and find capital from within its 300 significant monuments, the preservation of 20 sites importantly, it family networks, and a greater ability to adapt to rapidly by the Archaeological Survey of India, 84 ghats and around created a rich fluctuating market conditions. (Gooptu, 37-8). 3500 temples and mosques which have been a significant array of social draw for international tourists. Despite this palimpsest of Over the Twentieth Century and new millennium then, utopian visions for the city, thrown up by its multiple social the mobility and vibrancy of Varanasi’s population and histories, Varanasi, like the other cities of UP, failed to make built environment has been integral it to the final list of 20 cities identified within the Smart Cities to its political and cultural initiative. Yet, its utopias continue to shape Varanasi as mythical iconography. It has always city as well as key metropolis of the state of Uttar Pradesh.

6 Learning from the utopian city Varanasi: smart heritage city 7 Chandigarh: paradigm shifts

Anu Sabhlok, IISER Mohali

‘Chandigarh, brave new Chandigarh, Planning on ‘terra nullius’ A team of foreign architects were brought in to propel India An existing rivulet running through the city was framed on born out of the harsh plains of Contrary to popular belief, Chandigarh was not planted into modernity by planning a modern Indian city. The both sides by green spaces and called the leisure valley. The on ‘empty’ harsh plains waiting to be inhabited. For the first initial plan was conceived by the American architects Albert sectors or “containers of family life” as Corbusier envisaged without umbilical cord.’ phase of Chandigarh, 8,500 acres of fertile land, consisting of Mayer and Matthew Nowicki who planned a city divided them were segregated on the basis of social class (even as the Charles Correa, The Architectural Review, 17 villages were acquired in one go under the land acquisition into superblocks and attempted an idiom that fused Indian planners claimed that houses would be planned for all sections London, June 1964 act of 1894. In another few years 24 additional villages dotted and western traditions. The final plan and design of the key of residents) and traffic circulation too was segregated into with agricultural land and mango groves was acquired. Much buildings however was the work of Swiss-French Architect a hierarchy of roads ranging from v1s to v7s – V1’s would be of the conflict that surrounded this land acquisition and the popularly known as Le Corbusier. His team consisted of his the high speed roads with mixed traffic whereas the V7s were “Let this be a new town unfettered by the traditions of displacement of farmers (landed and not-landed) does not cousin Pierre Jeanneret and an English couple Jane Drew designed as bicycle paths. the past, an expression of the nation’s faith into the future,” form part of the dominant narratives surrounding the history and Maxwell Fry. Corbusier took the superblock from proclaimed Nehru, India’s first Prime Minister as he spelt out of this planned city. Plots were sold to the general public with Mayer’s plan and converted these into sectors – self-sufficient The capitol complex towards the north dominated the plan his brief for the city of Chandigarh. Chandigarh was planned the first preference reserved for displaced groups and individuals. neighbourhood units – each sector had its own marketplace, by its sheer monumentality and symbolism woven into each as the new capital city of east Punjab in order to house refugees Amidst political chaos and the socio-economic travails of a schools and religious institutions. architectural gesture. Notable amongst the structures at the from . Nehru saw Chandigarh as a symbol of modern fledgling nation state, the new city, about 250 miles north of capitol complex is the open hand monument. This is a graphic India, a city that would propel the nation into modernity, , was to serve an important socio-psychological purpose. In sector one, the head of the city, Corbusier placed the major representation of an open palm that is placed on top of a tall planning that would create a new kind of citizen for the newly This was India’s heroic break with its past erasing along the government offices – the secretariat, the high court and the column and pivoted in a manner so as to move with the wind. independent democratic nation-state. Since then, the building way the immediate tumultuous happenings and much older assembly building. To one side of this grid plan was placed The open hand is placed within an open air theatre called the of Chandigarh has served as a training school for a whole town planning traditions. Nehru argued that the site for the the University and a medical research hospital whereas on trench of consideration. Two symbolic ideas in this structure generation of Indian architects who have then gone onto new town is “free from existing encumbrances of old towns the other side was the industrial area. The city was to be revealed the social and political dreams of the moment. The express the modernist idiom in several other cities. and old traditions.” (quoted in Kalia, 1987). surrounded on all sides for a radius of 5 Km by forested land. trench of consideration was envisaged as a place where the

8 Learning from the utopian city Chandigarh: paradigm shifts 9 citizens of the city would gather and deliberate upon the houses large malls and boutique hotels. Large tracts of land Framed by Barnali Ray Shukla matters of the state. The open hand symbolised the idea continue to be acquired as the tri-city area expands into its that this city was open to give and open to receive ideas. periphery to make place for IT parks, Aero city, Knowledge In this way, through architecture and planning a new kind city and developer led real-estate projects. Chandigarh today of relationship was to be forged between the citizen and has the highest per capita car ownership in the country. the democratic nation-state. Ironically, the open hand monument today is closed to public gatherings. That the More recently, Chandigarh has seen movement in two plaza surrounding the trench of consideration is used as a seemingly opposing directions. – The Archaeological Survey heavily guarded parking for high court judges speaks volumes of India (along with Chandigarh administration) has submitted to the huge gap between planning intentions and real urban an application for Chandigarh to be in UNESCO’s list of politics. The city itself has a complicated political situation world heritage cities. At the same time, the city is a keen for it serves as the capital for two states – Haryana and participant in the smart cities challenge. The city proposal Punjab even while it is governed by the Central government for smart city outlines a high tech solution to a range of (is an union territory). citizen services including traffic management, sanitation and building construction. How these two visions for the city will be reconciled remains to be seen. The smart city challenge Between heritage and smart urban futures initiated a series of citizen workshops, online groups and Today, it would be impossible to refer to Chandigarh in discussion forums addressing the future of the city. While this isolation. On the south the city grid has expanded into Mohali was an interesting and perhaps an unprecedented attempt – which is the Punjab extension of Chandigarh and to the at involving the citizens of the city in its planning, it is also west is Haryana’s planned city – Panchkula. Together the important to note that missing from these publics are working region is referred to as the tri-city area. The 5Km designated class populations particularly the migrant labour populations. green belt now only exists in small pockets. Chandigarh too In its race towards infrastructure development the city relies has moved from the initial Nehruvian-Corbusier ideal of being upon this group to labour and create and yet the labouring a socialist city into becoming the quintessential neo-liberal populations are not (and have never been historically) included city. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the changed land as citizens of the city (they create). It is time that these use of the industrial sectors in Chandigarh to an area that now subaltern voices are given their place and ‘right to the city.’

Bombay: crossing paths by Ara Aman

10 Learning from the utopian city Chandigarh: paradigm shifts 11 Photo by Ayona Datta Nashik Police Department mural to encourage citizens in a range of activities including the marathon and using apps for safety

Nashik: from kumbh city to smart city

Shilpa Dahake, IISER Mohali

Notably known as temple city, Nashik is also famous as settlement of Panchvati, a place of no great size on the left or in fruit and flower trees, full of wild beasts and birds, Kazipura, Naikwadipura, Multanpura, and Kalapura to garden city or Kashi of South India. Here Sinhastha Kumbh east bank of the river; middle or Musalman Nashik, formerly and inhabited by tribes of Rakshasas. (1883:181) the landscape of Nashik. The city during this period was Mela is organised after every 12 years. The Marathi proverb called Gulshanabad or the City of Roses, on the right bank and enclosed with ‘darwajas’ or gates such as Kazipura Darwaja, “Nashik nav tekdvar vasavile” (Nashik is settled on nine to the south of Panchvati; and modern or Nashik, also As informed by many locals, there are number temples Darwaja, Darbar Darwaja, Baghur Darwaja, and peaks), aptly describes the geographical location of Nashik on the right bank, lying north and west of Musalman Nashik and a cave on the left bank of the river which is believed Delhi Darwaja (Kulkarni 1981:13). A few remnants of this on nine peaks of the . The river Godavari and west of Panchvati. The most important of these three to be inhabited by them. The families staying in this area period are still visible in the city. flows through the centre of the city. Also known as Ganges divisions is middle Nashik across the river and to the south of are predominantly Hindu and are engaged in ritualistic of South, River Godavari originates from Panchvati. Though to distinguish it from the and religious activities. became dominant in the In the 17th century, of won control over Nashik. Mountain in Trimbakeshwar (a temple town around 30 km which were added by the Marathas it is known as Musalman Nashik region during 200–600 AD, as expressed by a group The palace of Peshwas at the end of the main bazaar road from Nashik) and flows from the centre of the Nashik city. Nashik, middle Nashik is an old Hindu settlement. (1883:462) of old Buddhist caves known as ‘Pandu Lena’. Later, around is converted to Police Station and Public Library in recent The river is religiously significant. The population of the city 11th-12th century AD became prominent, as evident times. Under their reign, many temples were constructed and was above 15 lakhs in 2011 census with about 85% of the This excerpt from Vol. XVI of Gazetteer of Bombay from the presence ‘Chambhar Caves’ (Kulkarni 1981) renovated along both the banks of the river. Various mansions population comprising of . Presidency of Nashik summarises Pre-British period of or ‘wadas’, the ‘peths’ and temples from this period are still Nashik. The settlement initially started along the left bank The Muslim population settled along the right bank of the standing tall as a significant part urban landscape of the city. There are a number of ghats on both the banks of the river of the river. This area is known as Panchavati, it is believed river under Islamic rule during 13–16th century. The Islamic from Gharpure to Dasak. There are several old temples which to be chosen Lord for his stay during exile. According period added various ‘puras’ such as Kokanipura, Pathapura, Later in 19th after prolonged fights, the Nashik area were built during the rule. Even in the new settlements to , during exile Ram-Lakshman-Sita resided came completely under British rule. A British army officer one can find temple in every colony and every street. There in Panchavati – Tapovan area (currently also known as describes Nashik city as a “pleasing spot, a considerable are public as well as several private temples are also there. Panchavati and Tapovan) for some time. In the Vol. XVI Table 1: Chronological population and spatial growth town with two palaces, several beautiful temples on the river The identity of the city in recent times, completely shifted from of Gazetteer of of Nashik, this period Year Population Area bank and some handsome and spacious buildings and rich being a traditional centre to a modern city with is described as: neighbourhoods of gardens and vineyards” (Gazetteer of global links, though its religious importance has not diminished. 1881 24,100 13sqkm Bombay Presidency 1883: 537). The city limit expanded According to Brahman tradition the sage , who under British rule with the addition of the collector’s office, introduced Aryan civilisation from the north into the Deccan, 1931 45,744 20sqkm criminal and civil courts, Land Records and Revenue offices, Sedimented histories of Nashik when visited at his hermitage near Nashik, presented Ram the 1951 97,042 47sqkm Police headquarters, and parade ground. These additions The town of Nashik lies on both sides of the Godavari. The hero of the Ramayan, with a bow and other wonder-working were away from the city, but well within the reach. Following part of the river on which Nashik is built is in shape like an weapons, and advised him to pass the rest of his exile at 1971 1,76,021 56.32sqkm the British planning concept, officer’s bungalows, gardens, inverted S with a bend first to the right and then to the left. Panchavati on the Godavari opposite Nashik. Janasthan or hospitals, schools and libraries were also introduced. This led 2011 1,486,053 259sqkm The city contains three main divisions: Old Nashik, the sacred Nashik is described in the Ramayan as a forest country rich to implementation of the British model of administration in

12 Learning from the utopian city Nashik: from kumbh city to smart city 13 the area. In 1882, the local self-government was appointed along the Delhi-Mumbai corridor. The city is also part by the British rule in Nashik (Kulkarni 1981). of the Golden triangle Mumbai-Pune-Nashik and thus, is of great industrial importance. It has a very strategic location, The Nashik was a fairly insignificant town till 1947. close to cities like Mumbai (185 km), Pune (210 km) and The population drastically multiplied in the first half (190 km) in and Saputara (72 km) of this century, owing to its development as the district and (250 km) in . The first Development Plan headquarters. The economy of the city was mainly relying was sanctioned in the year 1993 and in the subsequent period, on the religious activities and related trade. The migrants trend of urbanisation, needs of urban populations, mode of in majority settled on the right bank of the river Godavari. living, modes of transportation, industrialisation, need of This new settlement adopted the British planning principles. social and physical infrastructure, trend of migration, etc., The migration introduced religious and cultural diversity have undergone many changes. Thus, the Nashik Municipal in the city. The growth of population led to expansion of the Corporation is working on the second Development Plan. city boundaries. The table 1 shows chronological expansion of the city. In recent times on the basis of Nashik’s four-fold economic configuration – ‘pilgrimage economy, industrial economy, The city landscape acquired many new features like industrial defence sector economy and a strong agricultural economy’, the units, planned and unplanned shops, residential buildings, authorities are showcasing it as a ‘Best investment destination both cooperative housing societies and independent of Maharashtra’. The Nashik city is advertised as a city with: bungalows, during this period. The city started to expand in all directions. The retail activity both private and municipal Well-developed physical infrastructure, adequate and reliable increased by 5 times and started to spread outside the water supply, strategic location at one vertex of the golden core area (Kulkarni 1981). By the 1960s, the city started triangle of Mumbai, Pune and Nashik, comparatively lower to industrialise after independence following the policy environmental pollution, efficient and well-developed intra framework devised by Pandit . Many public and intercity commuting facilities, excellent connectivity with sector industries like Nashik Industrial Co-operative Estate, other regional growth centres, developed industrial estates such Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation, Hindustan as Ozar, , Satpur and Ambad in the immediate vicinity, Aeronautics Limited and State Investment Corporation of modern Software Technology Park at Ambad, salubrious Maharashtra were established during 1960s, making the city a year-round climate, a safe and secure social environment significant member on the industrial map of the country. After thanks to the presence of a major defense base here, excellent independence, investments, irrigation schemes and electricity, air and rail connectivity with other major cities, large pool improved the share of agricultural economy significantly, of skilled, English-speaking professionals and well developed Rooftarp by Samir Parkar Living out of Jugaad by Shilpa Dahake making it a leading producer of a variety of grapes. educational and healthcare sector with a large number of The city of Mumbai viewed from above is dominated by a patchwork of blue tarpaulin The series of houses of made out of frugal reputed institutions having a presence here. (TOI 2014) roof tops. A thin layer of protection from the monsoon. Roof/Tarp/City is an ongoing innovations or colloquially famous as ‘Jugaad’ (Emphasis added) According to The Economic Times (2015), urban art project that works with the community to bring colour and a sense of pride in Hindi, illustrate how slum dwellers claim Between tradition and modernity in Nashik the city of Nashik is the second most favourable city to make to some of the most ignored parts of the city. their right to the city. investments, among the tier II Indian cities. Now, the city is ‘Nashik provides a blend of tradition and focusing on competing in the race of becoming a Smart City, modernism as it strives to be one of the leading this project is described by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a ‘mass movement towards Surajya’ (Government of India). cities in India to live, work and play. It provides city living at its best, with convenient and Simultaneous occurrence of and Smart City affordable public transport, safe and sustainable project, converted Nashik city into an ‘incubator for smart city start-up ideas’. This led to ‘culmination of religion civic services and a responsive local government. and technology’ in Nashik. One major example of this is, Nashik chooses to preserve its cultural heritage ‘Kumbhthon’ a technical hackathon, to identify and address while creating a sustainable future. the challenges of Kumbh Mela 2015 in Nashik, with the broader aim to address the issues of urban areas in the Nashik prides itself in being a safe city to walk countries of the developing world. On the other hand, the and cycle. Here, we motivate and inspire Nashik Smart City proposal conceptualised old city area, which houses large number of temples and heritage structure, everyone – from visitors to the local community for retrofitting. Around 250 acres of area is identified along to go out and enjoy the great outdoors which the river in the periphery of city for greenfield development. are paired best with visits to the local wineries and vineyards.’ Religious tourism, industrialisation and agriculture sector, these three are major contributors of the economy to the Vision statement from Nashik Smart City proposal Nashik city. Owing to these factors the city is expanding in all the directions. Following the footsteps of Mumbai and Pune, After the adoption of neoliberal economic reforms, the the authorities are focusing on making Nashik an investment industrial sector increased drastically from 394 in 1971 friendly destination for private developers. In the race of to 7896 small-scale and 174 large-scale industries in 1997. becoming a ‘world-class’ city various ‘spaces of accumulation’ Eventually the city became an important industrial site have sprung all across the landscape of the city.

14 Learning from the utopian city Nashik: from kumbh city to smart city 15 Navi Mumbai revisited

Annapurna Shaw, IIM Calcutta

For more than a decade starting from 1988 till 2002, I had of migrants to work as domestics in the planned nodes, catch up with its growth trajectory since the early 2000s Airport Influenced Notified Area), 560 sq. Kms in size, the opportunity to be closely connected via family to the as vendors in market places and to provide other services. and see the outlines of where it is headed. The workshop located south west of Navi Mumbai. then fledgling city of Navi Mumbai. As an experiment Although the development plan for the city had made was particularly interesting as it had representatives from in large scale urban planning that started in 1970, directed provision for LIG and EWS housing, this was not affordable CIDCO, the planning authority for Navi Mumbai, political Giving some credence to the proposed approach was and implemented by the state government, it was as yet for those with low end jobs or jobs in the informal economy representatives such as a councillor from the Navi Mumbai a presentation made by representatives of Khalapur, an unsurpassed in size covering 343.7 sq kms and promising and soon, the hillsides overlooking the developed nodes Municipal Corporation, and grassroots representatives from emerging town and its surrounding community within the to be a city for ‘the common man’. The idealism of the and the sides of the Thana-Belapur railway line became the unplanned areas and local organisations such as YUVA. influence region of Navi Mumbai that through voluntary early CIDCO bureaucrats to build a different kind of city the site of slums and temporary shelters (Shaw, 2004). land pooling would like to become a smart city. The rationale with a place for everyone, rich and poor, all religions and Over the two days, I learnt much about the present condition of the local population is that soon the area will become creeds and at the same time relieve Mumbai of its immense When my fieldwork ended in 2002, most of the major nodes of Navi Mumbai. Over a million people reside there now more urbanised and rather than middlemen making all the population burden seemed to be a worthwhile goal and got had been completed or were near completion, namely, Vashi, and according to the councillor from NMMC, it is already profits through escalating land prices, this model will ensure me interested in its development. With numerous housing Sanpada, Airoli, Kopakhairane, CBD-Belapur and Nerul, a ‘smart city’ with high levels of basic amenities, scientific perpetual benefit to owners. It will also encourage existing projects for middle and lower income groups underway and the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) solid waste management, lots of greenery and a thriving, residents to remain where they are and there will be no and the APM (Agricultural Produce Market) coming up, had been formed to govern this portion. Imperatives for diversified economy based on services such as ITES and displacement even for those without land. To implement there was an air of expectancy and hope that this would be the stricter marketisation of land had gained intensity post education. A CIDCO representative informed us that such a plan, the support of the state government is needed a new breakthrough in urban living in India. However, even liberalisation and frequent upward revisions of developed the days of bulk acquisition of land for town building are and the representatives are currently working on finer in those early years, side by side with the growth of the city, land prices characterised the decade of the over and the organisation is now following a ‘voluntary details before taking the plan to the government. there were two developments that signalled deep social nineteen-nineties along with reducing attention land development model’ with the aim of minimising cleavages that would make top-down plan implementation to social housing. There were already signs compulsory acquisition, involving land owners as participants difficult and the realisation of a modern egalitarian that the new city was essentially for the and incentivising land assembly. Under this model, after city, near impossible. One was the pre-existing local middle and upper middle classes. development, 60% of the land will be given back to owners. population who had not been consulted in any way This is the way CIDCO plans to develop during the long years of deliberation over the feasibility Last month, through the two-day the new town of NAINA (Navi Mumbai of mainland development. The bulk acquisition of their workshop on Navi Mumbai organised lands for the project led to much acrimony and slowed by Ratoola Kundu in TISS, Mumbai, implementation. The acrimony persists to this day I was able to revisit Navi Mumbai and in parts of the region. The second was the inflow

16 Learning from the utopian city Navi Mumbai revisited 17 While voluntary land pooling and local level participation residents ever making it to the new LIG and EWS housing in decisions on land use change are to be welcomed, they CIDCO plans to build. A blame game ensued between Snakes and ladders by Barnali Rayshukla do not provide a solution to the housing requirements of CIDCO’s chief town planner and the councillor, of lack the lowest 30% of income groups such as manual and low of co-operation and delayed action. While I listened with skilled workers who provide essential services to the resident disappointment, it reminded me of similar arguments made population of the newly developed areas. Many are ‘naka two decades ago to explain the growing slums on the hillsides: kamgaars’ or daily wagers with precarious jobs and earnings, “It is MIDC land, we cannot help them” or from MIDC’s procured by standing daily at nakas or important crossroads. side “they work in CIDCO’s nodes, CIDCO should be Despite the difficulties and tensions of daily job search, if responsible”. The only difference was that the disinterest their housing or shelter was assured, they would somehow on the part of state representatives, whether bureaucrats manage. This was forcefully brought out by a naka kamgaar or politicians, to solve the housing needs of the poor seems representative who has been living in a slum called Tatanagar, to have become stronger with time. in Belapur. The 15 year old slum has developed over a plot of government land reserved for a library. It is periodically A small foothold into the dynamic economy of the larger demolished only to spring back again as those living there metropolitan region via secure shelter is what is sought by have no other alternative. Residents are willing to shift daily wagers and other informal economy workers, now as to a proper place if provided with basic services. then. In the naka kamgaar representative’s words: “garib loko ko bhi bikas hona chahiye” (there should also be development In the workshop questions were asked of both CIDCO for poor people). It is a reminder of the fact that much still officials and the Navi Mumbai councillor as to why slums remains to be done before utopian visions conceived at the continue to persist and if there was a chance of Tatanagar top can become a reality for people at the margins.

No limits please by Preetika Sharma

Off the grid by Shilpa Dahake

18 Learning from the utopian city Navi Mumbai revisited 19 Principal investigators: Dr Ayona Datta (KCL) and Dr Anu Sabhlok (IISER, India) Co-Investigators: Prof. William Gould (Leeds) and Dr Rebecca Madgin (Glasgow) Project administrator: Sarah Gandee (Leeds)

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A view of Shimla by Rohit Madan The slow contoured life of a postcolony now dreams of fast utopian futures